Portland cements are hydraulic cements that chemically react and harden with the addition of water. Portland cement contains limestone, clay, cement rock and iron ore blended and heated to a temperature of about 2,600-3,000° F. The resulting product is subsequently ground to a powder consistency and mixed with gypsum to control setting time. Portland cement is used in many architectural, masonry and construction applications, most notably as concrete for roads, runways, slabs, floors, walls, precast structures and the like.
Architectural and construction applications such as roads, bridges, commercial and residential buildings and waterway systems that require a significant amount of cement-based concrete would benefit from a lower cost cementitious material that reduces or eliminates the dependency on the availability of limestone, clay, cement rock and iron ore. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,668, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses inorganic binder compositions that may be used as partial substitutes or total replacements for Portland cement for such applications. The inorganic binder compositions include materials such as fly ash, Al2O3, pozzolan, nepheline syenite, aluminum silicate, sodium hydroxide, silicic acid, potassium salt and sodium salt.
Architectural and construction applications that are subjected to increased fatigue stresses, acid rain and/or road salt, such as roads, bridges, transportation facilities and high-rise applications, would further benefit from a cementitious material having improved durability, acid resistance and improved rapid chloride ion penetrability. With the growing popularity of cement-alternative compositions and the desire to re-use manufacturing by-products such as stainless steel slag, a cementitious material that incorporates a manufacturing by-product material and exhibits improved properties is highly desirable. Accordingly, a need remains for a cost effective environmentally friendly cementitious material that incorporates stainless steel slag and exhibits improved durability, sulfate resistance and improved chloride ion resistance.
In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the invention are anticipated to be of significant value in the field.